An Electrical Sensitivity (ES) Fact Sheet - November 2002
What is ES?
Electrical Sensitivity (ES) is an environmental illness caused by exposures to electromagnetic fields (EMFs). EMF sources include power lines, electrical appliances, TVs, VCRs, computers, cell phones, fluorescent lighting, automotive electrical systems, etc. ES can be mild or severe, chronic or acute.
What causes ES?
ES can be initiated by exposures to EMF sources, such as prolonged computer use, or by exposures to toxic chemicals such as pesticides and solvents. Those already weakened by MCS (Multiple Chemical Sensitivity), Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Gulf War Syndrome, etc., are at greater risk to become EMF sensitive.
ES and MCS appear to be synergistic: i.e., neurological damage from toxic chemical exposures may compromise a person's ability to tolerate electromagnetic fields, and neurological damage from electromagnetic fields may compromise a person's ability to tolerate neurotoxic chemicals. ES and MCS appear to affect the same areas of the brain.
What are the symptoms of ES?
The symptoms of ES vary considerably, depending on the intensity of the exposure and the susceptibility of the individual. Symptoms can include fatigue, mental confusion, headache, memory loss, nausea, dizziness, rash, burning sensations, insomnia, sweating, tremors, chest pains, heart palpitations, convulsions, etc.
Although ES is not a mental or psychosomatic illness, EMF radiation can cause psychological symptoms such as anxiety, irritability, depression, and mood swings.
How can ES be treated?
Avoidance of electromagnetic fields is the most effective therapy for ES. Consultation with a physician who specializes in environmental illnesses may be necessary, since conventional physicians usually are not familiar with electrical injury or radiation sickness. A person with ES should have his home measured for EMFs to detect faulty wiring, faulty grounding, and other EMF problems. The extremely sensitive person with ES may need to move to a more remote area to avoid electromagnetic pollution.
As per Arthur Firstenberg in the Lapis News, August 2001, "There are various measures one may take, at home, to minimize one's personal exposure to EMF's, and to protect oneself against their effects. For example, fermented live foods such as yogurt, sauerkraut, and miso, are said to be protective against all forms of ionizing and non-ionizing radiation. Dissolving natural clay in one's bath water seems to help. Some say this increases the conductivity of the water and helps to discharge the body."
What about EMF Shielding Devices?
Mail order companies sell a variety of EMF shielding devices. One of our members is able to tolerate being near a cell phone tower only when wearing a baseball cap lined with strips of Mu Metal, a special alloy which blocks magnetic fields. Another keeps a WWII metal army helmet in her car to put on when driving under high tension lines to protect her head from EMF's. The modern lightweight, bullet-proof helmets do not provide a barrier to the EMF 's. She is also helped by using ear protectors when around humming electric motors inside buildings. However ES experts caution in general against using shielding devices.
Lucinda Grant writes in her Electrical Sensitivity Handbook "Beware of all products claiming to reduce EMF exposure or to reduce the effects of EMF exposure. All EMF protection products should be considered strictly experimental."
Also from the August 2001 Lapis News, Arthur Firstenberg writes "A variety of ways to try to shield one's home or one's body - special paint, clothing, pendants, etc. are on the market, but none are completely effective, and some do more harm than good."
As stated above, avoidance of electromagnetic fields is the most effective and prudent therapy for ES.
What are the special needs of the Electrically Sensitive?
Public understanding that ES is a serious physical injury, not an imaginary or psychosomatic illness. The same electricity that provides our modern conveniences also causes physical damage to some individuals.
Housing. Those with ES often need non-toxic housing in less developed areas to avoid cellular phone towers and other sources of electromagnetic pollution.
Financial Help. Those with ES may be too sick to work but may not be eligible for Social Security Disability or disability insurance.
Friends and family who offer support and encouragement, especially if the person with ES must be isolated from normal activities.
How is Share, Care and Prayer helping?
Share, Care and Prayer, Inc. is a non-profit, Christian organization giving spiritual and emotional support to those with environmental illnesses, including ES.
Share, Care and Prayer, Inc. distributes an informative newsletter to 4000 members nationwide. This provides a forum for questions, practical advice, spiritual counsel, new information, upcoming events and news of special interest.
Share, Care and Prayer, Inc. provides an E.I. Answer Line staffed by an Environmental Medicine expert to answer questions about Environmental Illness.
Share, Care and Prayer, Inc. publishes a pen pal directory to help those isolated by illness to keep in touch.
Share, Care and Prayer, Inc. maintains a large book and tape library for members which includes basic ES titles such as Lucinda Grant's Electrical Sensitivity Handbook and John Banta's video on reducing EMF's in your home.
Recommended Reading
Arthur Firstenberg, Microwaving Our Planet: The Environmental Impact of the Wireless Revolution. This out of print book is the most thorough review of the medical literature, documenting the harmful effects of electromagnetic pollution on human health.
Lucinda Grant, Electrical Sensitivity Handbook ($23.00, Weldon Publishing, P.O. Box 4146, Prescott, AZ 86302). A very useful practical guide for living with electrical sensitivity. Microwave Sickness, a 14-page booklet reprinted from two volumes of Electrical Sensitivity News which is no longer published ($12, Weldon Publishing)
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